Greek Culture and Etiquette: A Traveler's Guide to Customs in Greece

Why Greek etiquette matters

Greeks are famously warm, loud and generous. Hospitality, or filoxenia (love of strangers), is a genuine cultural value, not a cliche. Understanding a few customs helps you connect with locals from Athens to the smallest Cycladic village.

Greetings and first impressions

• A handshake with eye contact works for first meetings. Friends greet with a kiss on both cheeks.
• Say yia sou (hello, informal) or yia sas (formal/plural). Kalimera means good morning, kalispera good evening.
• Greeks stand close and touch arms while talking. Do not back away; it reads as cold.
• Be careful with the open-palm gesture (the moutza) - showing your palm with fingers spread toward someone is a serious insult.

Dining and the kafeneio

• Lunch is late (around 2-3pm) and dinner later still, often after 9pm.
• Meals are shared. Order several mezedes for the table rather than individual plates.
• A host will keep refilling your glass and plate; leaving a little food signals you are satisfied.
• Never rush a meal. Lingering over coffee or tsipouro is the point, not a waste of time.
• Toast with yamas! (cheers, to our health).

Tipping in Greece

• Tipping is appreciated but modest. In tavernas, rounding up or leaving 5-10% is normal.
• For a 40 euro meal, leaving 2-4 euros is generous.
• Leave coins for the kafeneio waiter and around 1-2 euros per bag for hotel porters.
• Taxi fares are usually rounded up to the nearest euro.

Dos and don'ts

• Do dress modestly at monasteries like Meteora and Mount Athos area sites - covered shoulders and knees, and a skirt for women is often required.
• Do accept offered coffee, sweets or a shot of raki; refusing can offend.
• Don't discuss the name dispute over Macedonia or Greek-Turkish politics flippantly.
• Don't insult Greek coffee by calling it Turkish coffee.
• Don't be surprised by passionate, loud conversation - it is enthusiasm, not anger.

Religion and festivals

Greek Orthodoxy shapes the calendar. Easter is bigger than Christmas, with midnight candles and roasted lamb. Name days often matter more than birthdays - if you meet a Maria or Yiannis on their saint's day, wish them chronia polla (many years).

Stay connected in Greece

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